Spanish hotels are taking a stand against a well-known tour operator over an argument about payments for Spanish hotels and paradores.
It is not only Spanish hotels that are affected however, as hotel operators in Portugal and Greece are also standing up to Thomas Cook.
The argument stems from disagreements over the prices the operator was charging for Spanish hotels when booking tourists accommodation.
Now, the tour operator, which organises holiday packages all over the world, has been accused of cutting up to five per cent of hotel bills it owes to the hotel owners in Spain, Portugal and Greece.
The bills are for accommodation provided to holidaymakers during the months of August and September in the above named countries.
Unsurprisingly, the hotel groups are now putting legal pressure on Thomas Cook to make it change its mind and agree to pay the additional five per cent of the bills.
But, the tour operator has cited various difficulties such as the volcanic ash disruption and emergency budget from the Government as reasons for having to make this decision. A spokesperson for the company said in August, the estimated cost of the volcanic ash disruption could cost the group up to £82 million.
The operator also stated that it had no choice in shaving five per cent off the bills, as the only other alternative would have been to take fewer rooms to fill with holidaymakers from the United Kingdom.
A trade union that represents European cafes, restaurants and hotels said that the action taken by Thomas Cook would see a “breach of contracts” and morally it was “unfair” to hotel owners who had been expecting to be paid in full.
This union, Hotrec has now joined forces with other hotel trade union bodies and the Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourism (Cehat) to take legal action against Thomas Cook.